Sunday, October 7, 2012

This week I was in South Glastonbury just as the last of the cool morning fog was lifting off the eastern hills.

But this journal entry is about something else -- authenticity. In a review by Billboard.com about Mary Chapin Carpenter's recent album, "Ashes and Roses," MCC spoke about how she just tries to be true to herself. Well said, MCC.

Though she is grateful for the positive reviews she has received over the years, she says that nobody pleases everyone all of the time. "No one is going to like everything you do," she admits. "That's just an impossible standard. I think the way I feel about what I do is that I'm trying to be authentic. I don't know what else to write about. So, if it doesn't connect with someone, or they don't like it, I can't be angry or disappointed. I'm just trying to be true to myself."

About Me

I am a reformed corporate lawyer. About ten years ago I swapped my briefcase for an easel and turned my full attention to painting. For nearly four years, I studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, which provides classical training in the academy tradition.
As a plein air painter, my office now is an outdoor one – throughout New England, including the beautiful Maine coast, particularly the legendary and breathtaking Monhegan Island (where it has been said that you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a painter). I also enjoy painting still lifes, which lend themselves to exciting uses of color and composition.
Painting changes how you see the world, particularly how light, color and atmosphere are observed. I strive to convey the essence of those elements from nature to canvas, with emotion and vitality, representational yet not literal. It’s about leaving something unsaid, so that each viewer may interpret a painting individually and uniquely.
Please also visit www.kenspaintings.com
Thanks.